Thoughts on Hurricane Katrina
This is not going to be a post about the federal and local government's response to the hurricane, nor an analysis on what went wrong down there. There has been a hurricane of ink all over the internet about what these topics and I don't want to go there.
This post is on how Katrina can show us some very interesting insight on us human beings.
The first thing that struck me is how, once NOLA was evacuated and people was let loose among the destruction, the city turned into a scene out of a Max Mad movie. Putting aside thirst, hunger and alike for several days, people went crazy looting not just food but whatever looked like worth a dime. It reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. Maybe us human beings really need to have a present authority with a clear set of rules to prevent us from our own peers. I couldn't help it but refer straight to Thomas Hobbes and his concept of man is a wolf to other men. I really don't know what happened there during those days, I'm just basing my analysis on pictures and quite a few videos that I found of people either looting or roaming the streets in pick up trucks killing dogs. But don't you just froth at the mouth thinking of a deserted city all for yourself? A city where everything is up for grasps and by the same token everything goes? [I do].
The second thing that came to my mind was the concept of God. After the Asian Tsunami, the local host of NPR here in Charlotte had several discussions about that being an act of God and why it happened in that region of the world in particular. I also read some stories about that idea on some publications and the whole concept that every single little thing that happens in this life is an act of God. I listen to that show only when there's commercials in the two 80's music stations that I listen to, but these days I've been paying attention to it to see if they invite those very same experts to talk about God and NOLA, but so far there has been none of the above. I guess is just easier to talk about stuff going on over there than over here.
And the third thing that came to my mind is poverty and privileged in America. This is the land of opportunities and the home of the American Dream and the most powerful country blah blah blah blah which happens to have a ton of poverty. Thousands of people that could not afford to pack up and leave the city for a couple weeks as a category five hurricane was breathing on their necks and their own lives were on jeopardy it's not stupidity, is the result of a live in poverty my friends.
And privileged. GWB's mum went to pay a visit to the people who flew to Houston and said that they were "unprivileged anyway so that they're better off now". And is that the very same elite of people, who were born with a spoon of gold in their mouths that are running the country and making decisions to what is better for all of us based on their own privileged lives. People that have no clue what the fuck it means to be born and raised in poverty and to lead a live of needs. Extremely rich people with an amazing political power who know nothing about being in need. I would've loved to see Barbara Bush's face once she read the criticism of her words on the media, perhaps she'd go like "but what did I say. . .?" And maybe GWB would've consoled her saying "don't worry mother, you know, is the liberal media after all."
Privileged, unprivileged, authority, God. . . maybe this ideas on the hurricane reflect more my own background and where and when I come from and stand today than what actually happened in NOLA. Perhaps I'm just splitting hairs, but don't you think there's more than just the strong winds and heavy rain that we all watched on TV?
This post is on how Katrina can show us some very interesting insight on us human beings.
The first thing that struck me is how, once NOLA was evacuated and people was let loose among the destruction, the city turned into a scene out of a Max Mad movie. Putting aside thirst, hunger and alike for several days, people went crazy looting not just food but whatever looked like worth a dime. It reminded me of The Lord of the Flies. Maybe us human beings really need to have a present authority with a clear set of rules to prevent us from our own peers. I couldn't help it but refer straight to Thomas Hobbes and his concept of man is a wolf to other men. I really don't know what happened there during those days, I'm just basing my analysis on pictures and quite a few videos that I found of people either looting or roaming the streets in pick up trucks killing dogs. But don't you just froth at the mouth thinking of a deserted city all for yourself? A city where everything is up for grasps and by the same token everything goes? [I do].The second thing that came to my mind was the concept of God. After the Asian Tsunami, the local host of NPR here in Charlotte had several discussions about that being an act of God and why it happened in that region of the world in particular. I also read some stories about that idea on some publications and the whole concept that every single little thing that happens in this life is an act of God. I listen to that show only when there's commercials in the two 80's music stations that I listen to, but these days I've been paying attention to it to see if they invite those very same experts to talk about God and NOLA, but so far there has been none of the above. I guess is just easier to talk about stuff going on over there than over here.
And the third thing that came to my mind is poverty and privileged in America. This is the land of opportunities and the home of the American Dream and the most powerful country blah blah blah blah which happens to have a ton of poverty. Thousands of people that could not afford to pack up and leave the city for a couple weeks as a category five hurricane was breathing on their necks and their own lives were on jeopardy it's not stupidity, is the result of a live in poverty my friends.
And privileged. GWB's mum went to pay a visit to the people who flew to Houston and said that they were "unprivileged anyway so that they're better off now". And is that the very same elite of people, who were born with a spoon of gold in their mouths that are running the country and making decisions to what is better for all of us based on their own privileged lives. People that have no clue what the fuck it means to be born and raised in poverty and to lead a live of needs. Extremely rich people with an amazing political power who know nothing about being in need. I would've loved to see Barbara Bush's face once she read the criticism of her words on the media, perhaps she'd go like "but what did I say. . .?" And maybe GWB would've consoled her saying "don't worry mother, you know, is the liberal media after all."
Privileged, unprivileged, authority, God. . . maybe this ideas on the hurricane reflect more my own background and where and when I come from and stand today than what actually happened in NOLA. Perhaps I'm just splitting hairs, but don't you think there's more than just the strong winds and heavy rain that we all watched on TV?
Jean-Francois was drunk at 9:14 PM
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